A West Paducah couple has been indicted by a McCracken grand jury on drug and child abuse charges.According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Department, Taylor Sloan, 21, and her live-in boyfriend Jarell Hardin, 25, are charged with first-degree assault, first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 years of age or younger, second-degree wanton endangerment, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Hardin is also charged with tampering with physical evidence.The couple turned themselves into the sheriff's department Monday after being indicted Friday.The charges stem from a nearly month-long investigation that followed a report of possible child abuse from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.Detective Capt. Matt Carter said an injured 28-month-old child was taken to an area hospital and Family Services was made aware of the case. The agency then reported the injuries to the sheriff's department on May 10 and an investigation was initiated, Carter said.Due to the severity of the injuries, Carter said, the child was transported to an out-of-state hospital. The facility's name was withheld.Doctors at the out-of-state hospital considered the number of injuries and their severity, and determined the child had endured "severe child abuse," the sheriff's department said.Detectives then interviewed Sloan, the child's mother, and Hardin."The explanation that was provided at the time they were interviewed was not consistent with the medical evidence or the physical evidence," Carter said.The couple's Morgan Oaks Lane residence was searched and small quantities of marijuana were found positioned within a child's reach, according to the sheriff's department.Carter said when investigating potential child abuse cases there are a lot of factors to consider."In the very beginning, you obviously don't know if you have an injury that has occurred that is a legitimate accident or an intentional act," Carter said. "So, in something like this we are greatly leaning on the medical professional's position on the injuries to determine if they believe that foul play is involved or not."Ultimately, he said, there are three main factors considered when assessing the nature of a child's injuries: the number of injuries, the location of the injuries on the child's body and the severity of the injuries.In this case, Carter said, several medical professionals weighed in regarding the nature of the child's injuries."We consulted with medical professionals that are trained in the area of forensic child abuse and through consultation with them and the evidence that was collected throughout this investigation, we took the facts in this case to the grand jury and the grand jury returned an indictment."Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.